The proposed project links research on the peer context of antisocial behavior and theoretical views on the developmental significance of children's friendship. The specific goals of the study are to examine the features and quality of friendships between antisocial children and to explore the processes within friends' interactions that may promote antisocial behavior. This project is the first to observe children's interactions with their friends in situations that should elicit deviance- promoting activities. Four specific hypothesis will be examined: (a)antisocial friends have lower quality relationships than nonantisocial friends;(b)the social context of the friendship differs between antisocial and nonantisocial friends;(c) antisocial friends demonstrate less effective conflict management than nonantisocial friends; and (d) antisocial friends reinforce one another's rule-breaking talk and behavior more than nonantisocial friends. The study involves an interview and an observational assessment of interactions between two antisocial friends and two nonantisocial friends in the fourth grade(N=60dyads). The combination of children's perceptions of their friendships and observations of their interactions during situations that induce conflict and that tempt them to break a rule is expect to yield unique information about relationship processes that contribute to maladaptive behavior. In turn, knowledge of socialization processes within friendships has implications for the development of programs to prevent antisocial behavior.